In one of the worlds I inhabit (the PCB manufacturing industry) a few year back when there was over capacity in the market lots of fabrication shops caught fire. Now they do play with a lot of dodgey chemistry and plating lines with hundreds of ampres - but it was common for a while !

Suspect there may be some over capacity in the Red Sea Livaboard market at present? not that I am suggesting anything...

In one of the worlds I inhabit (the PCB manufacturing industry) a few year back when there was over capacity in the market lots of fabrication shops caught fire. Now they do play with a lot of dodgey chemistry and plating lines with hundreds of ampres - but it was common for a while !

Suspect there may be some over capacity in the Red Sea Livaboard market at present? not that I am suggesting anything...

Didn't the old Royal Emperor spontaniously ignite a while back ?

Hyatt looked like a nice boat though.

Paul C

There are many different stories going round....Each one has the fire starting on a different boat. The big problem was the welding gas lying around...that went bang and caused the fire to spread. They quickly lost control and the fires burned until 4pm the following day. There are some reports that 4 dies, other reports suggest no one was injured...so who really knows. They had planes flying over dropping water to try and control the fires. Typhoon, Hyatt and Sweet Dreams are allegedly destroyed and VIP One has sustained serious damage. In total apparently 7 boats ( all liveaboards are affected).

Not been a good time for boat owners recently! This and the recent sinkings of Fraser etc.....

As for an insurance job...not sure. A while back a boat fell over in dry dock and the owner had to cough up because the dry dock was not insured. Also, they take years to pay out in Egypt. Wildcat which was lost a couple of years back has still not been settled. Yes they burn quick, they are mostly wooden boats.......

While I am not a fan of 'health and safety' the Egyptians do tend to be a bit more ready to ignore the dangers than some, you only have to spend a few weeks on these boats to see hair raising stuff going on. I can only guess what a boatyard coud look like in full swing.

As for insurance payouts - to be fair I can only imagine the BS required to get any kind of result in Egypt - you would need to have pretty good connections to even attempt it.

While I am not a fan of 'health and safety' the Egyptians do tend to be a bit more ready to ignore the dangers than some, you only have to spend a few weeks on these boats to see hair raising stuff going on. I can only guess what a boatyard coud look like in full swing.

It used to be a laugh a minute when I was guiding on liveaboards out there in the early '90's - in Hurghada there was one set of life jackets which magically appeared on whichever boat was going to be inspected next by the authorities. A well equipped liveaboard back then was one that had

- a toilet that actually flushed (one toilet between all of the guests)- a two way radio- a compass

Anything beyond that was considered unheard of. Strangely though I would rather those days than now because back then we would go an entire week without seeing another boat.

It seems as though the M.Y. Juliet escaped the fire without suffering serious damage but with the yard presumably trashed there must be some doubt as to whether she'll be ready for her first charter of the season on 27th March - when CJ and I are booked...

Popular Red Sea liveaboards including MY Typhoon, MY VIP One, MY Hyatt and Sweet Dream have been destroyed by fire while undergoing routine maintenance in dry dock in the Suez. No-one was injured in the 30 January blaze, which is believed to have started on MY Typhoon before spreading to other vessels in strong winds.Firefighters tried to control the fires during fierce winds caused by recent storms across the Red Sea, however, they were unable to rescue the four boats.

The authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the blaze, but preliminary reports indicate that the first started in the dry dock electricity wiring to MY Typhoon. As a boating incident, the investigation has to be carried out by the Egyptian Maritime Authority.

The operators of the liveaboards, all CDWS members, are currently organising alternative arrangements for diving guests booked on these boats throughout 2010.

In a statement, Tornado Marine Fleet, which operates Typhoon, said: 'Typhoon has given many happy memories to clients and staff alike and will be missed within the fleet. Plans are already in process to expand the fleet once again and we hope we will be announcing a new arrival in the near future.'

A spokesman for Red Sea Diving College, which operates MY VIP One said: 'The fire, which started on another boat, quickly became out of control and efforts by the fire crews could not prevent the fire from spreading from boat to boat, destroying everything in its path. All bookings will be contacted shortly regarding their reservations.'

Passing on his message of support to members affected by the blaze, CDWS managing director Zeyad M ElBassel said: 'Although the CDWS has no power to investigate such matters, we are in close contact with authorities about the incident. Thankfully no person was injured. These safari boats, all CDWS members, have been operating for many years and it is sad that they will no longer be welcoming divers to the Red Sea and showing the best that these waters have to offer.'

I was on the Typhoon a few months back doing the northern wrecks and reefs itinerary and it was a lovely comforable boat.Lets just hope that this report is accurate and no lives were lost. Boats can always be replaced, lives cant.

Also, they take years to pay out in Egypt. Wildcat which was lost a couple of years back has still not been settled. Yes they burn quick, they are mostly wooden boats.......

It's a shame that this claim still has not been settled. I was on the Wildcat in October 2000 for a week. The owner, Adham, is a very good man who seemed to really care about the divers on his liveaboard. I had an accident during the week I was on the Wildcat and was hit by a boat propeller. I was rushed to the hospital in Sharm El Sheik and spent some time recuperating there receiving 6 stitches in my head and 4 in my shoulder. Adham couldn't have been nicer, even making phone calls back to the US to tell my family what had happened while I was in the hospital, unable to make outgoing calls to the US.I hope his claim is settled soon.

It's a shame to hear about the other boats lost in the fire. I hope their insurance claims are settled sooner than Wildcat's claim.

Allegedly the fire started on Typhoon and was supposedly put out on Friday night...only to flare up again overnight and we have had strong winds etc which doesn't help..again just rumours.

Found out something interesting. The dry dock is only responsible whilst pulling the boats out and putting them back in the water. Once they are on the slip each boat brings its own staff in to carry out the repairs. There are 6-7 sets of rails at suez which each hold 6-7 boats nose to tail. Now if the fire was at the waters side of the slip all the other boats are trapped so although 7 boats were damaged there will most probably be a knock on effect to boats currently in dry dock or due in....

The boats are responsible for insuring themselves whilst in dry dock, I know VIP One was insured but not all boats were so the blame is starting to be thrown around.

In one of the worlds I inhabit (the PCB manufacturing industry) a few year back when there was over capacity in the market lots of fabrication shops caught fire. Now they do play with a lot of dodgey chemistry and plating lines with hundreds of ampres - but it was common for a while !

Suspect there may be some over capacity in the Red Sea Livaboard market at present? not that I am suggesting anything...

Didn't the old Royal Emperor spontaniously ignite a while back ?

Paul C

The crew and shore staff were on the top deck of Royal Emperor when it was noticed that smoke was coming from below decks. They all escaped with their lives but all their personal possessions on board inc two CCRs were lost.

I buy my own photographic kit. Diving equipment manufacturers and diving services suppliers get even-handed treatment from me whether they choose to advertise in the publications I write for or not. All the equipment I get on loan is returned as soon as it is finished with.Did you know you can now get Diver Mag as an iPad/Android app?